2009 Hyundai Veracruz

TIRE VALVE W/TMPS FAILS. THIS IS A SIMPLE AND VERY STANDARD BUT CRITICAL COMPONENT TO MAINTAINING TIRE AIR PRESSURE. THE VALVE BROKE OFF IN THE SIMPLE ACT OF REMOVING THE CAP TO ADD AIR. BREAK WAS THE END OF THE VALVE STEM AND PREVENT AIRING THE TIRE. THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT INSPECTED ALL WHEELS AND FOUND TWO MORE CAPS WHICH THEY REFUSED TO TRY TO LOOSEN SINCE THEY WERE OUT OF VALVES TO REPLACE. THIS SERVICE DEPARTMENT SEEMED TO RECOGNIZE THEIR EFFORT WOULD LIKELY HAVE SAME RESULT. THEY SEEMED TO KNOW THIS IS A PROBLEM. A QUICK INTERNET SEARCH SHOWS THIS TO BE A COMMON EXPERIENCE. THE ABILITY TO PRESSURIZE THE TIRE IS A ROUTINE MAINTENANCE TASK WHICH MUST HAVE ROBUST TIRE VALVE, SINCE TIRE PRESSURE IS CRITICAL SAFETY REQUIREMENT. THE TYPICAL USER IS VERY USE TO REMOVING A TIRE VALVE CAP AND NOT HAVE A PROBLEM. THE VALVE DESIGN BEING USED BY HYUNDAI APPEARS TO BE COMMON DESIGN FOR MANY MODELS/YEARS. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH A DESIGN FOR A CRITICAL SAFETY COMPONENT. THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED AND IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION TAKEN. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT 70 THE CAR JERKED, COMPLETELY STOPPED ACCELERATING. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE WHEN PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL. LUCKILY WE WERE NEAR AN EXIT, WE WERE NOT REAR ENDED BY A TRUCK AND WERE ABLE SHIFT LANES AND TO ROLL OFF AND PUT OUR HAZARD LIGHTS ON. AFTER CHECKING THE ENGINE, A LOCAL SERVICE MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THERE WAS AN ERROR CODE RELATED TO THE THROTTLE CONTROL. ON RESTARTING THE CAR THE ENGINE LIGHTS RESET AND THE CAR RAN NORMALLY. RETURNING HOME WE BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO HYUNDAI. WE WERE TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO AS THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES IN MEMORY EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN REGARDING THE THROTTLE SENSOR. I WAS TOLD THAT THEY WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING UNTIL AN ERROR WAS RECORDED IN THE MEMORY OF THE COMPUTER BECAUSE HYUNDAI USA WOULD NOT COVER ANYTHING UNDER WARRANTY. WHEN I ASKED IF IT WAS LIKELY TO OCCUR AGAIN, I WAS TOLD IT MOST LIKELY WOULD HAPPEN SOON AND TOO BE CAREFUL. A MONTH LATER IT HAPPENED AGAIN TRAVELING AT ABOUT 65 MILE PER HOUR. THIS TIME THERE WAS NO SHOULDER BUT I WAS ABLE TO PARTIALLY PULL OFF THE ROAD AND PUT ON MY HAZARD LIGHTS AS CARS DROVE BY AND AVOIDED HITTING MINE. THIS SAME SITUATION OCCURRED FOUR (4) MORE TIMES AS I WAS ABLE TO GET MY CAR FINALLY BACK HOME TO THE HYUNDAI DEALER TO SERVICE THE CAR. THE HYUNDAI DEALER REPLACED BOTH THE THROTTLE SENSOR AND THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY. HAVING RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM WITH ACCELERATION, I HAVE LEARNED THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SIMILAR AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PROBLEM. AFTER SPEAKING WITH OTHER HYUNDAI SERVICE TECHNICIANS I WAS TOLD OFF THE RECORD THAT THIS WAS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM. AS THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR IS LESS THAN $29 I AM NOT SURE WHY HYUNDAI DID NOT ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM WHEN I FIRST BROUGHT THE CAR OR AS A RECALL AS THE CONSEQUENCES COULD BE MUCH MORE SERIOUS. *KB

WHILE DRIVING, IT FELT LIKE A JERK OR SHIFT IN THE ENGINE TWO TIMES AND THEN THE ACCELERATOR STOPPED WORKING. I COASTED INTO A PARKING LOT AND CALLED A TOW TRUCK. NOT FIVE MINUTES EARLIER I HAD BEEN DRIVING 65 MILES AN HOUR ON INTERSTATE 35 - AN EXTREMELY BUSY AND FAST-MOVING HIGHWAY. IF THE PROBLEM HAD HAPPENED THEN, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE RESULT. THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AT THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP SAID IT WAS PROBABLY THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR AND THAT THIS WAS A "COMMON PROBLEM." THE SENSOR IS BEING REPLACED AS I TYPE. I LOOKED ONLINE ON EDMUNDS CAR SPACE AND FOUND SEVERAL OTHER HYUNDAI OWNERS COMPLAINING OF THE SAME PROBLEM AS FAR BACK AS 2007 (PROBABLY EVEN BEFORE). THIS IS A LIFE ENDANGERING PROBLEM THAT HYUNDAI IS APPARENTLY IGNORING UNTIL OWNERS BRING IN THEIR VEHICLES. *TR